Tournament Poker Cleans Up Its Act

Adams: Offensive Language Is Off Limits At The Table Or Online

(CBS)  That sent him into a tizzy of curses, including a racial epithet that is no longer uttered in polite company even in the deepest South. (I can only assume that because my hometown is listed on the screen as Washington, D.C. he assumed I must be African-American.)

I am accustomed to hearing profanity at the poker table, especially when players lose a pot they feel they should have won, and ordinarily pay little heed. But this guy had gone beyond the pale of what I felt was acceptable or tolerable. I fired back a reply along the following lines: “I see you are a racist too. Now I am really impressed.” He went away, and I turned my attention back to winning the tournament.

When the tournament ended I sent an e-mail to the “support” desk at PokerStars. Ordinarily I only communicate with them when I encounter technical problems accessing or staying connected to the site. But I wanted them to be aware of conduct that I felt should not be tolerated on their site. I felt better after reporting the incident, and went to bed.

I didn’t really expect a response. I tend to assume that poker Web sites are nothing but a bunch of computer servers on some offshore island, staffed by a few geeks who keep the servers humming and an absentee owner who rakes in the profits.

I was pleasantly surprised in the morning to find an email from PokerStars thanking me for alerting them to the incident and advising me that they had suspended the offending player’s “chat” privileges. He now has to suffer silently, which is probably torture for him.

I was so impressed that I sent a complimentary email to Rich Korbin, PokerStars’ marketing director whom I had met at the World Series this year and the only management-level person I knew how to reach. I received replies from him and from Lee Jones, PokerStars’ director of poker operations, affirming PokerStars’ commitment to making their Web site a place where people can enjoy the game without being subjected to offensive or inappropriate conduct.

I have always tried to live by the maxim that “if you are not part of the solution you are part of the problem.” I plan to take my tuxedo to the cleaners next week so it will be ready in case I make the final table of the next televised tournament I play.